We have a saying in this house. It's called: "I think you're acting weird today." Anyone is allowed to bestow this saying on any other house-hold inhabitant at any time as long as that person is bona-fide weird that day. I'm fond of using it on Chuck on numerous occasions. Anything qualifies as weird. Here are a few actions that would cause one to initiate 'the saying': staring off into space, being too quiet, being too loud, not wanting tea, giving weird answers in response to simple questions, you know... pretty much anything 'not normal'.
Well...as of late, Gavin would qualify as 'not normal'. Seeing as though I've never been through the adolescence stage with any of my children before, I'm not exactly sure what to expect when. I never know if how he is acting is normal or not. I'm still a 'first time mom'.
My quiet, laid-back, unassuming, thoughtful, articulate, considerate, loves-to-sleep-in child I've known for over 12 years now has apparently morphed into another creature all together. I even asked him today if they were feeding him bags of undiluted sugar while at school. He said "no". So I have to believe that another force is at work. I'm blaming on-coming teen-age-hood.
The son who could sit still and read for hours now can't stand still to save his life. The one who used to value silence and solitude now needs to constantly bang his hands on any and everything like a drum beating out some rhythm known only to his brain. The child who was so mild mannered has become the adolescent who is climbing the walls and seriously has me contemplating the question of "What does ADHD look like"?
It is as if we've flipped some imaginary switch. He has also become a 'stands-too-close-loud-talker'. He has no volume control, not even when 6 inches from my face. I love that he still loves to talk with me about his day, life, dreams, etc...but not at full volume. I have noise issues. I also have sensitivity to too much motion issues. I know that is not a technical term. I don't know if there even is a name for my condition...yet. But it involves going literally crazy when someone is moving way too much around me. I can't handle too much motion. It makes me confused. As does loud music. Or too many people in a room talking at the same time ( I hear every conversation and can't really pay attention to just one ). It's not necessarily motion-sensitivity... that's more like getting car sick. It's much deeper than that. It's called: I need people to sit still and speak softly while around me. Okay, it's sounding more and more like I'm the weird one. Hmmm...maybe we need to explore this a little more.
Anyways, all of this to say that the beginning of our journey into adolescence is fun so far. You never know what to expect from day to day. One day he will sleep in till 10am so he can grow another 2 inches right in front of my eyes. The next day, he's up at dawn and talking as fast as a chipmunk with as much energy to boot. This just proves the age old adage, when you think you know what you're doing-everything changes.
